Harry Potter and the Source of Magic
by knithsil1
Summary: Sixth year fic! Harry returns for his sixth year at Hogwarts with the prophecy weighing on his mind, but Dumbledore is here to help! With the promise of extra lessons, Quidditch practice and a budding romance what will Harry's Sixth year bring?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: OK This is my first new story in quite awhile. It has taken me a little while, but I have a general plotline for each of the first few chapters, so I should update pretty quickly but once that runs out, I may slow down again. I am still working on my James/Lily fic but I had to get this out of my system, besides that one needs more work on each chapter. Anyway, let me know what you think, this is the first work I have done in awhile so stay with me on this, and also, this chapter does stay close to the first few chapters of the sixth book, but it was needed because of a few key differences. Anyway read on…**

Chapter 1: News

It was 11.29pm on the 30th of July and Harry Potter was asleep in his room at number four, Privet Drive. Tomorrow would be his 16th birthday, but that wasn't on his mind at the moment. What had been on his mind was the death of his godfather, Sirius Black. It had been on his mind every day since the events in the Department of Mysteries. But right now, just before he fell asleep, that hadn't been the most prominent thing on his mind.

On his desk were letters from his friends Ron and Hermione, all with veiled questions as to how he was doing but no answer he could give would stop them from sending them. On the top of the rather untidy stack of parchment was a letter written in thin slanting handwriting which belonged to his headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The letter had arrived four days previously and read as follows:

_Dear Harry,_

_I would like to escort you to The Burrow for the remainder of your summer holidays. If this is agreeable to you then please return this owl with your reply. If you will take me up on the offer then I shall arrive at number four, Privet Drive on the 30__th__ of this month at 11.30 pm._

_There are also other matters I would like to discuss with you, if you accept my offer, at the time when I arrive, if that is convenient. I hope to hear from you soon._

_I am, yours most sincerely, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry had replied immediately and had spent the last few days waiting for his reply, or else packing his trunk, or pacing his room. In the end he was unsure if Dumbledore was really coming, which had resulted in his room being an odd assortment of piles of clothes, books, parchment and quills, and a haphazardly half-packed trunk, which had made sleeping the last few nights rather awkward.

At precisely 11.30 a light went out in the street outside, and the darkness woke Harry with a start. Instinctively his hand flew to his wand and he peered out into the gloom before hearing the doorbell ring. His uncle's voice came ringing out from downstairs.

"Who the bloody hell is calling at this time of night?" and Harry did a double take, he had forgotten to warn the Dursley's of Dumbledore's possible arrival. He took the stairs two at a time but as he arrived on the bottom step Uncle Vernon was at the door and he opened it to reveal Albus Dumbledore in all of his wizarding glory, and had been rendered quite mute at the sight.

"Ah Vernon, how nice to see you" Dumbledore said politely, when no reply came he continued. "Shall we assume you have invited me into your lovely home? It is unwise to linger in the streets in such times" and he stepped over the threshold into the house, Vernon closing the door behind him.

"Ah Petunia, I must say you keep your house in good order" he addressed Harry's aunt, when again no reply came he once again spoke "I assume from your silences that Harry had not mentioned my arrival?" he said looking around with mild interest.

Harry took this as his moment to enter the hallway "Er sorry Sir, it must have slipped my mind" he said rather sheepishly "I'll just go finish off!" and with that he bounded back up the stairs. He located everything he had lost rather quickly once all the piles were in his trunk and 10 minutes later he had dragged his trunk down the stairs into the hallway where Dumbledore awaited him.

"Ah Harry, excellent, I take it you are ready to leave?"

"Yes Sir," Harry said enthusiastically and he made for the door but Dumbledore remained.

"Excellent, just before we leave I have something I would like to remind your relatives of" Dumbledore said, his tone was light but there seemed to be a faint chill emanating from him. He turned to face the Dursley's and they drew together slightly. "As you know next year Harry turns 17, which means that he has come of age in the Wizarding world" Harry heard Uncle Vernon mutter 'preposterous' under his breath but Dumbledore carried on as though he had not heard it.

"Now the magic I evoked here 15 years ago will expire on the day he turns 17, or the day he becomes a man. I ask that you allow him to return here one more year to ensure that his protection continues. I asked you to care for him as one of your own, yet you never had. However you have grudgingly allowed him to stay here and for that, you have my gratitude in keeping Harry alive. And now we will take our leave"

And with that Dumbledore strode out of the house, leaving stunned Dursley's behind. Harry uttered a rushed 'Bye' before following his headmaster. "Are we going to The Burrow now sir?" Harry asked, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Yes Harry, but we do not want to be burdened by these on our trip, we must take a rather irksome detour first, if that is alright with you of course" Dumbledore added. Harry nodded his agreement and Dumbledore waved his wand and Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage disappeared. "If you will take my arm Harry" and Dumbledore extended his arm out, and Harry grabbed it. "Have you ever apparated before?" Dumbledore asked and Harry shook his head. "Well this will be a new experience for you then" and without warning Dumbledore turned on the spot and Harry felt the ground disappear from underneath him.

He felt like he was being squeezed through a tight rubber tube and just when he thought that all the breath he had would leave him but just as soon as the sensation was there, it vanished. When he opened his eyes again, he realised he had closed them while apparating, he saw that they were near the Burrow, in a field near a rickety shed not too far away. Quietly they made their way inside.

"Now Harry as I mentioned in my letter we have a few small things to discuss, not least the fact that I have not heard how you are coping now that Sirius has…gone on" Dumbledore said kindly, surveying Harry over his half-moon spectacles.

Harry fixed his eyes on the spiders crawling around in a distant corner of the shed. It took him awhile to find his voice. "It's…hard t-to know that he won't write to me again" Harry said in a strained voice and his eyes burned. He blinked back the tears and carried on in a stronger voice. "But Sirius wouldn't have wanted me to beat myself up about it would he? And life is too short for that. It could be me next…and if it is…I want to take as many Death Eaters with me…and Lord Voldemort too if I can manage it"

Dumbledore broke into a wide smile "Spoken like your parent's son and Sirius' godson! And I am glad you have the drive in you, as I knew you would, because this year I want to take a more…active role in your education"

Harry started at this, "What…you mean give me lessons?" he asked excitedly

Dumbledore nodded "Well not just me…other teachers too, it would be an added effort but I believe you can cope. They will of course have to be kept secret; however I think Mr Weasley and Ms Granger deserve to know, as they do about the prophecy. I take it you plan to tell them?"

"Yeah, I was planning to this summer" This wasn't completely true but in a way, accepting that they would know lifted a weight from Harry's shoulders. "So what will I be learning sir?"

"A bit of everything, mainly more advanced spells in the subject area's you have in school along with some more…extra curricular magic" Dumbledore said evasively. Harry looked frustrated but Dumbledore merely chuckled. "Don't worry Harry, at the Welcoming feast I will explain more, now I believe we should make our way to The Burrow, needless to say I'm sure Molly will want to inspect you before sending you to bed."

And with that they set off to the Burrow. When they got there Molly threw open the door and pulled Harry into a bone-crushing hug. "Harry dear it's so good to see you, come in and sit down, you have grown so much since I last saw you, just like Ron, oh and look at how thin you are!" Her speech was cut short by an amused cough from Dumbledore "Oh hello Professor" she said, appearing rather flustered.

"Good evening Molly, I trust you are well?" he said his eyes twinkling in the gloom. "I must ask a favour, when you make your trip to Diagon Alley please contact Remus, he wishes to see Harry very much, and if you could give him this" a scroll of parchment appeared an he handed it to Mrs Weasley "I would be most grateful, it is an extra list of books Harry will need this year, Remus will accompany him to get them"

"Of course Professor, before you leave though may I offer you anything? Tea? Brandy?" Mrs Weasley asked, ever the hostess.

"No I must be off, I have trespassed on your hospitality for too long. Give my regards to Arthur and your son's Fred and George, I'm sure their shop will keep my staff on their toes this year" Mrs Weasley looked proud at this, but blushed all the same. "I shall see you on the first of September Harry, until then, goodbye!" he said and he took two steps into the darkness, turned on the spot and vanished.

"In you come now Harry, sit down, I have made some soup for dinner, if that is alright with you" Mrs Weasley fussed over him as Harry made his way into the kitchen of The Burrow where a delicious aroma was coming from. "Now Hermione is already here, and both her and Ron are asleep so I have put you up in Fred and George's old room"

Harry muttered his appreciation as he slumped into a chair and pulled the bowl of steaming soup towards him as a loaf of bread and knife soared towards him and started slicing itself. After a few minutes there came a knock at the door and Mrs Weasley hurried over to it. After a conversation in whispers, where at one point Mrs Weasley turned an interesting shade of pink, the door opened to reveal Mr Weasley, who entered and looked at Harry in mild surprise.

"Harry, good to see you, I was expecting you to be asleep by now! How are you?" he said, sitting down at the table, pulling his own bowl of soup towards him.

"I'm good thanks Mr Weasley, how are things at the Ministry?" Harry replied.

"Manic as usual, of course now that I lead the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects, quite a mouthful I know, my workload has somewhat increased. You wouldn't believe half of the stuff that crops up!"

"Wow, congratulations Mr Weasley!" Harry said at the news of Mr Weasley's promotion

"Thank you Harry" Mr Weasley said with a smile. Harry finished his soup and stifled a yawn behind his hand, and Mrs Weasley, never one to be deceived, pointed at the door.

"Bed. Don't worry about getting up in time for breakfast tomorrow either Harry, I will send a tray up. See you tomorrow dear" Mrs Weasley said kindly and Harry, too tired to argue nodded mutely and climbed the stairs to Fred and George's bedroom, which was cluttered with boxes, he supposed they used it as storage. He clambered into one of the beds and the moment his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

**A/N: Thanks for reading all the way down here. What did you think? Review and tell me!!! See you next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: OK, and one other thing, I made a mistake in the first chapter, the day this chapter starts on is the 30****th**** of July, not the 31****st**** AKA Harry's birthday. I knew that in my head while writing the last chapter but got it wrong, sorry! Anyway this chapter was basically waiting to be written anyway, the others should take more time than this. Not much to say on this one as I haven't given enough time for the first chapter to be read, so enjoy it…**

Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

The next morning three things happened to Harry all at once. With a sound like a cannon the bedroom door flew open, the curtains were drawn, shining bright sunlight in his eyes and a excitable voice rang out "We didn't know you were here!" after which he found himself unceremoniously thrown from his bed as someone else landed on it and collapsed in a tangle of sheets on the floor.

"Ron, give him a bit of warning!" a girls voice came from somewhere where Harry assumed to be the door. Groping around he found his glasses and shoved them on and the freckly face of his best friend Ron Weasley came swimming into view. His other best friend, Hermione Granger was standing at the door with an exasperated look on her face.

"Hi guys" Harry said as he got back into the bed "What's the time?"

"9.00ish, we woke you up in time for breakfast, mum won't be too happy about it though…" Ron said, pausing a bit, but shrugged it off.

"How are you Harry? Really?" Hermione asked, straight to the point.

"I'm fine Hermione, honestly. I was upset about it at first, but I don't know, I guess as long as I remember him, he won't ever be gone, not really." Harry said quietly. There was a bit of a strained silence, obviously Ron had wanted to avoid the topic of Sirius for awhile so Harry pressed on and decided that he might as well get everything out of the way now. "And there is something else too, the prophecy that smashed?" They nodded their heads, "Well it was made to Dumbledore and he showed it to me. Everything the papers are saying is right, I have to beat him, or well at least it says _neither can live while the other survives _which is the same thing I guess."

Ron and Hermione look stricken, eventually Hermione found her voice. "Oh Harry, are you OK? Are you scared?"

"Well I was, but before he left last night Dumbledore said he was going to give me private lessons, I mean obviously nobody else can know about them, but that made me feel a lot better about it." Harry said, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. The worst of it was over, and now he didn't have to worry about telling them anymore.

"Mate, that's brilliant!" Ron exclaimed "I mean obviously the prophecy bit isn't but wow, private lessons with Dumbledore. _Dumbledore!_ You Know Who won't stand a chance will he?"

"Yeah, that's right, and Dumbledore will probably teach you loads of stuff…" Harry barely listened to the rest of his friends his encouragements, the fact they were still there supporting him filled him with a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time.

Just then a knock came at the door, and Mrs Weasley came in. "I see you are awake dear" she said, shooting a disapproving look at Ron, "So breakfast is ready now" and she withdrew her head. The three exchanged quick glances and all got up, Ron and Hermione hurried ahead so Harry could grab some clothes and he then left the room, running into Ginny on the way down.

"Hi Harry" she said "How was it with the Muggle's?"

"Not too bad, they left me alone mostly" he replied "How have things been here?"

"Terrible, with Phlegm about at any rate"

"Who?" Harry asked confused

"Remember Fleur Delacour? Well her and Bill are engaged, so she is here getting to know the family." Ginny said gloomily and Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise, before he could answer they entered the kitchen and sure enough there was Fleur in the kitchen helping Mrs Weasley, who had an odd expression, with breakfast. When Harry walked in Fleur looked up and placed the plate of scrambled eggs she had down on the table and moved swiftly over to him

" 'Arry" she said in her throaty voice " 'Eet has been too long" and she kissed him on either cheek.

"Hi Fleur, er…congratulations!" Harry said awkwardly, noticing the glares Fleur got from Mrs Weasley, Hermione and Ginny

"You are too kind" Fleur laughed and kissed him again and he felt the spots burn.

"Yes well" Mrs Weasley cut it "Perhaps if we could continue with breakfast, besides you three" she indicated Harry, Ron and Hermione "Your OWL results should be arriving today. At this Hermione dropped the plate she had been holding, it breaking with a resounding _crack_ which Mrs Weasley hastily repaired, and went pale.

"No" she breathed and with that she promptly left the kitchen in a hysterical state. It took a little over half an hour to calm Hermione down, insisted that she hadn't failed everything and would have to work with Filch, and brought her to the kitchen again. Just as she reached for some toast however, she paled once again, and, surely enough out the window were three owls flying towards The Burrow, carrying very official looks letters.

Harry's heart started pumping as he untied the letter addressed to him with fumbling fingers. After this difficulty he removed the letter and looked over as Ron had detached his and Hermione's hands were shaking the whole owl, who looked thoroughly disgruntled. Eventually Mrs Weasley took pity on her and removed the letter for her and Hermione took it, looking like the letter might explode.

Silently the three opened their letters in unison and Harry unfolded the piece of parchment inside, closed his eyes, as if expecting to see something terrible, and then, bit by bit, opened them to reveal his marks.

The parchment read:

_ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS_

_Pass Grades: Outstanding (O) Fail Grades: Poor (P)_

_Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)_

_Acceptable (A) Troll (T) _

_HARRY JAMES POTTER HAS ACHIEVED:_

_Astronomy A_

_Care of Magical Creatures E_

_Charms O_

_Defence Against the Dark Arts O_

_Divination P_

_Herbology E_

_History of Magic D_

_Potions O_

_Transfiguration O_

Harry was stunned. He reread the parchment over and over, to make sure he wasn't reading it wrong. But there it was, he had achieved the grades he needed to be an Auror, he had even got an _O_ in Potions! It seemed Snape could teach after all. He looked over at his two friends, Ron looked at him and offered his results, Harry scanned the page and saw reasonable grades, no Outstanding's there though. He looked up in time to see Ron grab Hermione's grades and scan them with a laugh.

"10 Outstanding's and an Exceeds Expectations in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and you're actually disappointed aren't you?" he asked her, smiling but with a hint of exasperation. Hermione just turned pink and shook her head before seeing Harry's grades and giving a squeal.

"Oh Harry, Well Done! And you got an '_O_' in Potions!" she then ran up to him and gave him a hug of congratulations. Ron smiled on and looked as his mother.

"So shall we finish breakfast then?" he asked somewhat hopefully, "seeing as Hermione didn't fail everything and Filch is without an assistant…" They all laughed and sat down and at that moment Harry felt the last knot of unease he had for the moment unwind. He was going back to Hogwarts, and was going to be an Auror. Dumbledore was going to give him private lessons and best of all; his friends were there to do it with him.

The three took out their book lists from the envelopes and, to Harry's great surprise had been made Quidditch Captain, earning him congratulations from all around, and read through them, Ron would be dropping Potions as he did not get the required grade in it, however he was, in his own words "Only too happy to never see that greasy git again"

After breakfast Mrs Weasley informed them that they would be going to Diagon Alley later that day, as Harry had some things to sort out with Sirius' will and they might as well do their school shopping while they were there so just after lunch Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Mrs Weasley all used Floo Powder to transport themselves to The Leaky Cauldron where they were welcomed by Hagrid and Remus Lupin. They both stood up and greeted them all, and Lupin hugged Harry when he saw him.

"Molly could you leave us alone for a bit, me and Harry have…things to discuss" Lupin said, looking at Harry rather sadly.

"Of course, Oh but before I forget, Albus wanted me to give this to you" she said and handed him the piece of parchment Dumbledore had given her last night. Lupin took it, read it with raised eyebrows before nodding.

"OK, thanks Molly, me and Harry will see you all soon" Lupin said and Harry watched as his friends, Mrs Weasley and Hagrid all left The Leaky Cauldron. "Albus told me you were coping alright now that Sirius is…gone" Lupin muttered turning to Harry, and he nodded. "You know he loved you very much, don't you?"

"Yeah…I know" Harry said, again feeling some tears behind his eyes.

"Well I have his will here" Lupin said, holding up a different piece of parchment. "And in it, he says that I can be your new godfather, that is, if you want me to be" Lupin said, looking away slightly but Harry's head shot up, with a grin on his face.

"Of course I do, that is, if you want to be" he said eagerly and Lupin broke into a wide smile.

"Of course I do" he said and the two hugged very briefly before pulling back. "Well on to other things Sirius left everything he had to you, other than transferring an amount of gold to my account, however we need to do a test to make sure that you have inherited Headquarters, Dumbledore thinks that there might be an enchantment on it which prevents it from being handed down to anyone but a pureblood, so we have a test." He waved his wand a Kreacher the house elf appeared throwing a violent tantrum, so loud it cause people to look on at him.

"I don't want him, or the house" Harry said looking at the elf in disgust.

"Would you rather he goes to Bellatrix instead? With everything he knows?" Lupin asked, eyeing Harry, but knowing the answer. Harry struggled with himself but resigned in the end. "No"

"Well then the test is simple, if he has passed into your ownership he must obey your orders, if he doesn't, then we will have to think of a different way to keep him gagged." Harry nodded. Kreacher's tantrum was getting so loud he said the only thing he could think of.

"Kreacher, shut up" The house elf looked at Harry with the deepest loathing before grabbing his throat and resigning himself to a silent fit of displeasure, Remus looked satisfied.

"Excellent, I think you should send him to Hogwarts Harry, Dumbledore can keep an eye on him there" Harry agreed and sent Kreacher on his way, glad to be rid of the elf and turned back to Lupin.

"So what now?" Harry asked.

"Well you have books to get, and some extra's on top of that" Lupin said, waving Dumbledore's list. "We don't want to keep Molly waiting any longer than necessary, she will skin me alive" Harry and Remus laughed before heading out into the sunshine to Diagon Alley.

They visited Gringotts first so Harry could replenish his gold supplies and they headed to Madam Malkins, so he could get some new robes, his old ones were now a few inches too short. From there they replenished his potion supplies from the Apothecary and then on to Flourish and Blotts where they got all of his new school books. They also managed to find his extra books he needed to buy.

One each for Charms and Transfiguration which went well beyond schooling level, one which dealt with Defence Against the Dark Arts, but in a slightly different form to what he was used to, instead dealing not just with simple counter curses, but also tactics and other offensive spells, the publishing came from Auror headquarters. The final book was impossible to open and had a title written in Ancient Runes, Lupin had picked it as a match for the book listed on the list (which was also in runes). The shopkeeper had given Harry an odd look when he bought that but said nothing and Harry wondered why Dumbledore would tell him to buy a book he couldn't open or read.

They met up with everyone else outside The Leaky Cauldron, Hermione having just as heavy a bag of books as Harry (which, without her taking extra lessons, says something) and Ron had a lighter load of books that both of them.

"Blimey Harry how many books do you need? I thought we were taking the same classes this year? Well minus Potions that is" Ron exclaimed at Harry's bag.

"I have books for my extra lessons, and trust me, they aren't exactly light" Harry said, shifting the bag uncomfortably and Ron laughed.

"Rather you than me mate" Ron said, and Harry could tell he meant it. A few years previously Ron would have been jealous of Harry receiving the extra lessons but now it meant everything to Harry that he wasn't. As they made their way into The Leaky Cauldron Harry stopped Lupin.

"Should I ask Hermione what the runes on the cover of that book mean?" he muttered so only they could hear, and Lupin shook his head.

"Sorry Harry, not yet, wait until you have Dumbledore's permission, he may not want anyone knowing that you are studying from that book.

"Why, what's in it?" Harry asked

"I can't say, it is a part of the book's magic. You will know when Dumbledore see's you on the first day of school." Lupin said, signalling the end of the conversation. His expression softened and he patted Harry on the shoulder, steering him inside the pub where they travelled back to The Burrow.

The next few weeks passed quickly for Harry. He had a very enjoyable birthday tea receiving presents from Ron (a book on different Quidditch plays), Hermione (a daily planner which, like her homework planners, sorted similar events into same categories which flashed different colours), Lupin (another book on Defence Against the Dark Arts), Hagrid (rock cakes and a carving of a black dog), Mr and Mrs Weasley (an assortment of sweets), Fred and George (a supply of their products) and surprisingly Dumbledore.

He had sent him what looked to be something similar to what he had seen in his office. It was a series of rotating rings, one inside another which focussed around a centre of white smoke, which it occasionally emitted, but not diminishing the amount in the centre. The rings seemed to be suspended between four long spindly legs which perched on the table and reached up and curved over the top of it, the rings and the legs had no obvious connection so Harry guessed a spell held them in place. With it came a note explaining that Dumbledore would teach him what it is for in his extra lessons, nobody present, even Hermione had the remotest clue of what it was, so he was resigned that it was yet one more mystery that would have to be solved on September 1st.

The rest of his time was spent with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, playing two on two Quidditch in the garden, making fun of Bill and Fleur, or occasionally each other and by the time September 1st came around Harry could not have remembered having a more enjoyable summer holiday. He spent the last day of freedom packing, and just when he thought his trunk was full, he remembered Dumbledore's present. The whole holiday it had just been standing on his bedside table, merrily spinning away, occasionally giving off a puff of smoke. Sometimes before he went to sleep he would look at it and find himself calmed, just from watching it.

Very carefully he picked it up and placed it in his trunk, making sure it was properly cushioned before shutting the lid of his trunk. He stumbled into bed and took of his glasses, thinking that tomorrow, finally, many of his questions would be answered.

**A/N: Well there we go another chapter; that one was written in under a day! Sorry again for the date mix up but otherwise the chapter wouldn't have worked and would have made things a bit odd for me to fit it all in. Anyway I hope you liked this one, there was more of the story in this one, rather than a changed version of the book, if you know what I mean… if you don't it doesn't matter, as long as you enjoyed it! Anyway please review and I am working on the next chapter already. I should update soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: OK I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far!!! For those of you who want Harry and Ginny together, it will happen eventually, but I don't plan on it being in the space of a chapter or two… but maybe I'll throw in a few moments here and there, who knows? Well I guess I should, I'm writing the story after all… ANYWAY I hope you like this one, I've been itching to get this one out of the way…**

Chapter 3- The Journey

The day of the return trip to Hogwarts started very early with Mrs Weasley yelling up the stairs for them all 'to get up or not eat until the Welcoming Feast'. Predictably Ron was in the kitchen when Harry finally walked in, grabbing a spare seat next to Ginny, murmuring his thanks to her as she passed him a stack of toast while he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Just as they finished breakfast Remus Lupin appeared in the fireplace. Harry greeted his godfather with a wave and passed him a leftover slice of toast, which was gratefully accepted. "Thanks Harry" the werewolf smiled. "Now Dumbledore has arranged it so that you can have car's from the Ministry transport you to Kings Cross, they should be arriving in about an hour so make sure your stuff is ready" he spoke to all of them but glanced at Ron, who grinned sheepishly and they all laughed and left the kitchen, Harry glad that for once, he had packed on time.

As he climbed the stairs back to Ron's room his passed by Ginny's and heard her voice coming from the inside. "OH COME ON! It has to be here somewhere!" she exclaimed loudly. Harry paused and knocked on her door.

"Ginny are you OK in there?" he called through to her.

"Yeah, just lost my Charms book!" she called back, sounding a bit worn out.

"Need any help looking?" he replied.

"Yes please!" she sounded grateful. Harry opened the door and entered her room. It was small but seemed to suit her. There were two posters adorning her walls, one of the wizarding band The Weird Sisters, and another of the Quidditch team The Holyhead Harpies. She had a desk that looked over the window into the back garden. The rest of her room however was in a mess as clothes and books were thrown everywhere while an open trunk lay at the foot of her bed. "I saw it here when I woke up this morning, and now it's gone!" she said in frustration, throwing her hands into the air.

"Where shall I start looking?" Harry asked, not wanting to search anywhere…_private_.

"Oh, over by the desk should be fine!" Ginny said distractedly waving a hand at her desk. Harry obliged and started to methodically search through all the drawers, until he found a thin book with what he assumed was Ginny's handwriting on it, which read the words _Harry Potter_. Curious he turned round with the book in his hands.

"Oh and what's this we have here?" he said with a laugh and Ginny looked around, saw the book and turned faintly pink.

"Damn, I'd forgotten I still had that" she said, now laughing too.

"Doesn't answer the question though does it?" Harry replied.

"It's a book that I had from my crush on you, had newspaper clippings, stuff from books, you know…"she said slightly embarrassed.

"Wow am I really that amazing?" Harry joked and threw the book back in the desk.

"Oh get over yourself" Ginny replied, still smiling. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed as they each searched for her book before Ron burst into the room, holding the fabled textbook.

"Ginny, you left your Charms book in the lounge…Harry, what are you doing here?" Ron asked, taken aback by his friend's presence.

"Helping Ginny look for that" Harry replied, pointing at the book while Ginny shook her head and took the book from her brother.

"Thanks anyway Harry" she said as Harry got up and walked to the door.

"No problem, see you later Ginny" Harry said as he walked with Ron up the stairs. "So, is Hermione all packed?" Harry asked Ron and he laughed.

"Of course, but she is double checking, _just in case_ she forgot anything" and Harry laughed too, and sure enough as they passed by her, now dragging her trunk downstairs, which they both wordlessly grabbed and carried down, she was still muttering her list of items under her breath. Every time she thought she had forgotten one she would run back upstairs, to check her room, only to return saying 'of course I packed that there earlier'.

The Ministry cars arrived on the hour, and, with trunks loaded in, they set off for Kings Cross station, Ron complimenting the amount of space inside the cars the whole way. After a much shorter amount of time that Harry guessed it would take to arrive, the cars glided smoothly up to the station and the Aurors inside helped unload the trunks. One of them grabbed Harry by the arms and steered him towards the barrier but he jerked it away irritably.

Ron was next through, followed by Ginny and Hermione walking together. They all hauled their trunks onto the train and as said their goodbyes to Mrs Weasley and Lupin who waved goodbye to them as the train pulled out of the station. Harry turned to his three companions.

"So…shall we go find a car?" he asked his friends. Ron and Hermione looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Er… me and Ron need to go the Prefects car to get our orders, but we will come along right after that!" Hermione said, looking at Harry apologetically, and Harry mentally slapped himself for not remembering.

"Oh yeah…well I will see you guys later then" he said and Ron nodded his head vigorously as he and Hermione went off to the front of the train.

"So shall we go Ginny?" Harry asked but she shook her head.

"Sorry Harry, I have to go find Dean, I said I would meet him" she shot him an apologetic look before hurrying off. Harry, left to himself found a car containing Luna and Neville, relieved. The journey passed with relatively little event, other than a dark haired girl called Romilda Vane making an offer for Harry to sit in her compartment, while making a veiled insult to Neville and Luna, which he coldly rebuffed.

Ron and Hermione made it in after about an hour, which involved Ron's usual promise of cursing Malfoy into oblivion, not to mention Dean who he had seen holding Ginny's hand, because of course such crimes warranted a life sentence in Azkaban.

As the train neared Hogsmeade station they all changed into their school robes and disembarked to get to the carriages which would take them up to the school. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna all managed to squeeze into one carriage and just before Harry got on he saw Dean, Ginny, Seamus and a few other students, they may have been younger than them, get into one of the carriages further ahead.

After a cramped and rather bumpy carriage ride they joined the jostling crowd to get into the Great Hall for the welcoming feast and found themselves seated near Ginny, Dean and Seamus. Harry Ron and Hermione exchanged the usual pleasantries, though Ron did seem a bit terse with Dean, but he didn't seem to notice too much. Harry glanced up at the Head table and saw Hagrid wave at him which he cheerily returned. Snape was surveying the hall with a mixture of disinterest and, when he reached Harry, contempt. The seat that usually contained the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was however empty. Before Harry could ponder this however the Sorting began.

This year Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff gained more students than usual, while Slytherin had a rather depleted number. After the hat had been put away Dumbledore stood up to make the usual announcements.

"To those of you who are new here, I say Welcome. To those of you who are returning, I say Welcome Back! Before we start our delicious feast and your minds become too muddled with the thought of sleep I must make a few announcements, but first a warning." He waited for a moment before continuing. "As you are all aware, Lord Voldemort-" there was a collective sharp intake of breath "has returned. Because of this we have much greater security placed on the school; however this does not mean you can be careless. I must ask you to all stick to your curfews and obey any instruction your teachers give you, even if they are inconvenient they are for your safety. I also encourage you all to show Inter-House unity this year." He seemed to look particularly at the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables.

"On to other business, any products from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes have been added to the banned list, the full version of which is on display at Mr Filch's office. Our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will not be present at the feast, he is arriving later tonight, however I will say that he will not disappoint you" He surveyed the Hall once more. "I have kept you from your meal for too long-" Harry heard Ron mutter a 'hear hear' from next to him "Tuck in" and with that the plates on all the tables filled with food and Ron immediately grabbed a bit of everything in sight, shovelling it into his mouth as fast as possible.

"Brilliant Ron" Harry said as mashed potato hit his glasses.

"Yeah, really classy" Ginny added while Harry cleaned his glasses with his napkin, while Ron just grinned sheepishly at them.

"Sorry guy's, been a long day you know?" he said before diving back in while Harry laughed.

The feast passed quickly and after the last plate had been wiped magically clean Dumbledore stood up once more. "Now that we are all fed and watered you will find your beds awaiting you, as warm and comfortable as you could want. I will see you all bright and early tomorrow morning for a day of learning. Now then, goodnight!" he said briskly and there was the usual deafening scraping as benches were pushed back as all the students made their way out of the Hall.

As Harry left the Hall a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Professor McGonagall looking at him. Ron stopped to wait for him while Hermione hurried ahead to lead the first years to the Gryffindor dormitories. "Mr Potter I believe you have an appointment with Professor Dumbledore" she said. "Mr Weasley I suggest you get to your dormitory, I'm sure Mr Potter will tell you all about it later" she said, adding a smile to the end of it.

"Yeah go on mate, I'll see you later" Harry agreed. Ron nodded and hurried off, joining the crowd of other Gryffindor's.

"Now Harry, after me" Professor McGonagall steered him away, towards Dumbledore's study and Harry started at her use of his first name. "What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the expression on his face.

"You called me Harry" he said, a bit dumbfounded and she chuckled.

"And no-one else is to know, after tonight I feel that I should be using your first name. Professor Dumbledore will explain everything" Once they reached the Headmaster's study Professor McGonagall said the password to the Gargoyle ('Acid Pops') and it sprang aside, giving the two entrance to the winding stairs.

Inside he found Dumbledore standing behind his desk. He was also surprised to see Professor Flitwick and, much to his displeasure, Snape. Dumbledore looked up as he walked in with Professor McGonagall. "Ah Harry! Do come in, thank you for fetching him Minerva" he added, inclining his head at the witch.

"Now Harry" he continued, "As you remember I promised you extra lessons, well here are your teachers. Professor McGonagall will tutor you in more advanced Transfiguration, as well as more of the theory behind the magic we call Transfiguration." Professor McGonagall smiled at Harry. "Professor Flitwick will be doing the same for you with your Charm work" he nodded to the small Professor, who again smiled. "Professor Snape will teach you more of the Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts techniques" at this Harry started, his mouth agape.

"I'm not exactly _thrilled _about this either Potter" he said coldly, "I hope you prove to be more adept at this than you are in Potions" Harry threw him a dirty look, which Snape returned but a slight cough from Dumbledore brought their attention back to him.

"Severus is the best placed of all our teachers this year to instruct you because of his unique insight into how Lord Voldemort and his followers are likely to act." He surveyed them sternly over his half moon spectacles. "I must ask you two to co-operate on this." Both Harry and Snape struggled for a minute before nodding their agreement, which seemed to satisfy Dumbledore. "Now our new Defence Against the Dart Arts teacher will be assisting you with some basic Auror training, mainly that to do with tracking, concealment and duelling, ah here he is now" Everyone turned as the door opened to reveal a very grizzled looking Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody.

"Evening Albus" he said inclining his head. "Minerva, Filius, Severus" nodding to each of them in turn. "Potter" he said and clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I trust you had a good trip Alastor?" Dumbledore enquired.

"Uneventful if that's what you mean, then yes" Moody said before joining the ranks of the other teachers surrounding Harry.

"I was just informing Harry of what you would be instructing him this year, I trust you think he can handle it?" Moody looked at Harry with both of his eyes, and nodded.

"Excellent! Now Harry your extra lessons are organised so that you have tuition with Professor Snape on a Monday, Professor Moody on a Tuesday, Professor McGonagall on a Wednesday and Professor Flitwick on a Thursday. The lessons shall take place from 8.00pm to 10.00pm. I suggest you find a suitable method for getting back to your dormitory undetected" he gazed at him, eyes twinkling, "so as to avoid any explanations to Mr Filch. Do you have any questions?"

Harry fidgeted in his chair, not wanting to sound childish, but asked anyway. "Sir, are you not going to be giving me any lessons this year?"

"Oh yes, how could I forget?" Dumbledore said, although Harry was under the impression he hadn't forgotten at all, "I shall be instructing you every Sunday from 9.00am until Lunch, quite a long session but we will have a lot to get through. Now then, I thank you all for coming, goodnight!" The assembled Professors and Harry all said goodnight and made for the door but Dumbledore called out "Harry, one more moment please" and Harry made his way back into the room. As soon as the last of the teachers had left the room Dumbledore began speaking again.

"I could not mention this in front of the other Professors, apart from perhaps Alastor, they would not find it appropriate however I thought that you might like to know a little of what I am teaching you this year." Harry nodded enthusiastically and Dumbledore chuckled.

"This year your teachers will expect you and your peers to be able to cast spells nonverbally. It takes a long time to be able to do it competently without consciously thinking about the action, by which I mean to become instinct, however with you we have no such time. I shall be focussing on this until it has, however I shall also be branching into other, more diverse branches of magic."

"These include studies of wards, which is touched upon in the Ancient Runes class, but not taught here in Hogwarts, Apparition, which I believe you should become acquainted sooner rather than later, general progression of magical aptitude, general theory of magic itself, in short all the things which I myself learnt, though I did for slightly…different reasons. And one final thing, and perhaps the most important you keep secret, even from all the other Professors, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger may of course still be informed, I think it is very appropriate that you follow in your father and godfathers footsteps" he finished surveying Harry closely.

"You mean…become an Animagus?" Harry asked and Dumbledore nodded. Excitement exploded in Harry's stomach. He would be doing something that really connecting him to his dad and Sirius, like a rite of passage.

"And you must be unregistered. We cannot afford the Ministry knowing about it, in case the information is compromised. Now then" Dumbledore finished, standing up. "I have kept you awake for too long. Tomorrow it is an early start for lessons. I shall see you for your first lesson on Sunday, oh and bring the item I sent you for your birthday. Goodnight." Harry got up to leave and made his way for the door, but stopped just before opening it.

"What is that called Sir?" he asked, looking back at the elder wizard.

"You know Harry, I have never asked! Goodnight" he said with a smile.

"Goodnight sir" Harry replied and quickly made his way to the Common Room, when he found himself in front of the Fat Lady he saw Ron waiting for him.

"I realised you wouldn't know the password so I waited for you. What took you so long?" he asked.

"I'll tell you inside, come on". Harry said, tiredness overcoming him. Ron muttered the password to the Fat Lady and they clambered through the portrait hole into the Common Room. Inside he saw Hermione waiting for them on the couch. Sitting down he gave them a brief account of the events that occurred in the Headmasters study (Ron shouting 'YES' when he heard of Moody's return, only to receive a scolding from Hermione)

"Well mate looks like you are going to be swamped this year" Ron said flatly. "Goodbye to free, Free periods eh?" he said jokingly

"Very funny" Harry mumbled sleepily. "Anyway I'm off to bed, see you in the morning" and he traipsed up the stairs, closely followed by Ron to his dormitory. The moment his head hit the pillow he was asleep where he fell into a series of odd dreams where he flew around on his broom wearing a captains hat, but with his mouth jinxed shut while he tried to chase after someone in the distance, he couldn't see very much of them, just that they appeared to have long red hair. When he woke up the next morning he didn't remember the dream at all.

**A/N: OK there we go, a bit of H/G stuff there! I know it was a bit stupid of me to say I might not write any and then write a lot, but oh well! I guess I have to start laying the seeds for it now, because as I said, I have absolutely no intention of them getting together over the course of one or two chapters! It will frustrate me not to write it though! Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review to let me know! See you next time! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Saying thanks for all your reviews so far!!! It's nice to know people are enjoying the story! A note in that I actually thought JKR had a very clever plotline in Harry learning more about Voldemort, however my story will try to incorporate little bits of the line she took, as I plan to write a sequel to this story, well if I can that is. I have a few ideas knocking about here and there and really I am realising that I can't really work on this sixth year fic without completing the story? Anyway that's really far away, back to the present this chapter has been slightly more difficult for me to write, mainly because it involves a lot of…fluid concepts…Oh well it will make sense when you read it…hopefully…**

Chapter 4: A Mountain to climb

Harry awoke with a start the next day. He lay there for a few minutes hearing the snoring of Ron and Neville. He couldn't remember exactly what had woken him; it wasn't a bad dream, or a good one. It was more like a _feeling. _Not like something was wrong, but like something was nagging him. He looked at his watch, before realising it still didn't work before grumbling and deciding to get up. He pulled back the hangings on his bed and groped for his glasses, bumping into Dumbledore's gift, which was refreshingly cool, before finding them,

He tiptoed out of bed and, stealing a glace at the clock on Seamus' bedside table, seeing it was 6.00 (and inwardly groaning) made his way to the showers to get ready. He descended into the Gryffindor Common Room about 20 minutes later fully dressed with his bag to find the fire dying down into embers. He sat down on one of his favourite armchairs and stared into its remains, quite happy just to let the time pass. After a short time, well it could have been a long time but nobody else had entered the room, he was disturbed from his thoughts, or lack of, by a voice behind him.

"Up early then?" Harry spun round to see Ginny in a long dressing gown making her way down the stairs from the girls' dormitories. Harry nodded and turned back to the fire and Ginny sat next to him. "Why are you up this early then?" she said with a yawn.

"I could ask you the same thing" Harry chuckled. "I'm not sure really, just one of those things. What about you?" He looked at her.

"As much as the roommates would not want me telling you this, some of them snore worse than Ron" Harry winced.

"I feel your pain" and they both laughed a bit before staring back into the fire, sitting in comfortable silence. Again after what could have been no time at all, or a long time, a group of first year girls came into the Common Room and headed out the portrait hole. Harry looked at her briefly. "Right, I had better get Ron up, we don't want to be late on our first day" he said and she laughed.

"Don't become boring on us now Harry, _late on the first day_" she laughed again before heading back up the stairs "besides I do have to get ready. See you later" she called down to him.

"Bye" he called over his back after her. Harry crept into his dormitory to find Neville and Dean rousing from their sleep and they saw him standing there. They each shared a brief look before Dean and Neville grabbed Seamus and Harry grabbed Ron and the two sleeping boys were flung unceremoniously out of their beds. "Come on, breakfast is starting soon" Harry said laughing as Ron looked mutinous.

"A simple prod will do in future mate" Harry heard as Ron went for the showers while Seamus still lay on the floor, groaning.

When Harry and Ron went back into the Common Room they saw Hermione waiting for them, tapping her foot impatiently. "Why do you two _always_ take so long to get ready on the first day?" she demanded. Harry saw Ginny snort into her hand with a group of friends as she went passed and Harry grinned.

"Sorry Hermione" the two boys said sheepishly and they exited the portrait hole.

They made it to the Great Hall to find it relatively empty and Ron, having staked claim at a place on the table where he could reach almost every bit of food about, which was a rather impressive feat due to the amount of food on offer, began heaping his plate. Many students gasped, pointed and whispered to their friends as they saw Moody sitting at the Head Table. A few who remembered Harry's fourth year looked at him warily while others seemed to be excited at the prospect of actually being taught by the legendary Auror. Harry grinned to himself and joined Ron.

Just as he had helped himself to a bowl of porridge Professor McGonagall approached them with their timetables. Ron grabbed his from her with a muffled 'thank you' before continuing shovelling food into his mouth, earning him a look of disdain from the Transfiguration Professor.

Harry took his and looked over it, inwardly groaning at the sight of a double Potions session on Monday, but today seemed to be quite good, with Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology. Today seemed to be the best day for his free periods as he had a total of four today. It seemed Dumbledore had given him this day to catch up on all of his work as two of his periods overlapped with each other.

Ron had an identical day to Harry today, and every day except when Harry had Potions, where Ron had a free period. Hermione of course had the most packed schedule having far fewer free periods than anyone.

The three finished their breakfast and made their way to the first lesson of the day, Charms. When they made it to the classroom they took three seats in the middle and waited as it filled. Harry saw that they had been paired with the Ravenclaw's this year as many people had elected to continue studying Charms. He saw a few friendly faces walk in and breathed an inward sigh of relief. At least he knew one friendly lesson this year.

When Professor Flitwick walked him he stood on his pile of cushions and spoke to the whole class, something quite unusual for him outside of a lecture.

"Up until now you have been using incantations aloud. However as you will have noticed, many of the fully proficient witches and wizards you see do not usually do this, as we can cast spells nonverbally. This year as you prepare for NEWT's, but also for adulthood you too must learn to cast spells nonverbally as well. It will not be easy to start with however we must start right away, therefore I expect you to learn all new incantations faster spoke verbally so that you have the maximum time available to get to grips with the nonverbal aspect." As he finished there was a groan around the class, only Hermione, like Harry, seemed to have expected this. Harry saw Ron out of the corner of his eye shaking his head.

After this speech Professor Flitwick gave them the task of casting a simple silencing charm nonverbally. Harry tried but could not silence his raven, and at the end of the lesson only Hermione had successfully silenced her toad, a feat which earned her 10 points.

Professor McGonagall also gave them a similar speech in Transfiguration and so it was a relief for Herbology to come around where they could curse as loudly as they wished when a vicious plant took a swipe at them. His free periods were and odd feeling, maybe it was because they had only started today and he had such little work to do but he could easily see himself using these times to relax however he knew all too well that once the work started being dished out, he would need every minute of them.

At dinner he noted that Hermione had a stiffness about her which he put down to the fact that she had figured out she would have the largest workload (apart from perhaps himself but he didn't want to point that out) due to her taking an unprecedented amount of NEWT's. He wisely decided not to point that out to her, a mistake which Ron was unfortunate enough to make which caused her to snap at him throughout dinner.

The weekend did nothing to lighten her mood, even though the weather was bright and sunny. Hagrid, while he was initially upset at them for dropping Care of Magical Creatures quickly forgave them, and they spent the Saturday afternoon having tea with him while Fang drooled on Harry's leg.

When Sunday dawned Harry once again woke up with a start. Just like the first time it wasn't because of a dream or anything else, but he just had a nagging feeling. Like he had forgotten something, and was trying to remember what it was. He rolled over and tried to get back to sleep but knew it was no use. Grumbling to himself he reached for his glasses and jammed them on. Seamus' clock swam into focus and he groaned again when he saw it was 6.00am.

He took off for the showers and when he returned he still found his room mates fast asleep, and from the sound of Ron's loud snores, they weren't waking up anytime soon. He grabbed his bag and placed Dumbledore's present to him inside it, along with some of his regular school books, parchment and quills, just so it didn't look too out of the ordinary. Once again he traipsed down the stairs to the deserted Common Room where he once again took up his staring into the embers.

Time didn't seem to notice him when he did this. It just seemed to float by, occasionally buffeting him in its steady flow; just reminding him he was still a part of it. Or at least that's how it occurred to Harry as he sat there, most other thoughts quietened, and each other thought was like a disturbance in a pond, causing ripples on the calm surface, however eventually he returned to the quite comfortable state of just being receptive, remaining stationary in the moving world.

After a long time, this he could tell as sun was now creeping into the Common Room properly the first students emerged, bleary eyed from their dormitories, heading down to an early breakfast, disturbing Harry from his reverie. He saw Ginny heading out of towards the portrait hole with one of her room mates who was protesting loudly 'I do NOT snore!' and he chuckled. He also saw Dean Thomas catch up to her and give her a quick kiss before the three exited.

Taking this as the sign that his room mates were now awake he walked back towards his room only to see Ron emerging. He waited for him at the foot of the stairs and met up with Hermione before heading down to breakfast. As the owls swooped in Hedwig dropped a note into his lap before starting to nibble at his toast while he stroked her.

It was written in Dumbledore's thin slanting script and read

_Harry,_

_I am reminding you of our lesson today. I shall meet you in my office at 9.00 after breakfast. _

_P.S I enjoy Liquorice Wands_

Harry grinned excitedly and handed the note to Ron and Hermione.

"He enjoys Liquorice Wands?" Ron asked confusedly

"It's the password to his office" Harry replied, checking Ron's watch. Seeing that it was ten minutes to nine he finished his pumpkin juice, grabbed another bit of toast and exited the hall, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"OI! Tell us how it goes!" Ron called after him and Harry raised a hand to acknowledge he had heard him before he exited the hall. He made it to Dumbledore's office at 9.00 by taking a few well timed shortcuts, although he was slightly out of breath from jogging the last corridor. He entered the room just in time to Fawkes erupt into flame revealing a very ugly chick in the ashes.

Dumbledore raised his eyes from his phoenix to greet Harry. "Ah Harry, excellent timing, I was just about to send Fawkes to look for you, however in his current condition he would be unable to, so this saves me both time and effort. Please sit down"

Harry made his way over to the desk and took the seat he had occupied so many times before he counted it as his now. Dumbledore surveyed him for a minute over his half moon spectacles before speaking. "You seem to be much calmer now Harry." Harry found this an odd thing to say and it must have registered because Dumbledore chuckled. "I should probably explain. You have always had a very energetic mind, however it has been…clouding you; perhaps preoccupying yourself so you cannot focus on other things?" Harry looked around awkwardly, he knew that that was precisely the case, Dumbledore continued.

"However now you seem to have calmed a bit. Perhaps now we can put that mind of yours to good work. If you could please remove the present I gave to you and set it on the desk." Harry did what he was told, the machine started rotating and puffing smoke again as he set it on the desk; whenever he transported it, it seemed to stop but would always start again when it was on a solid surface.

"What is this sir?" Harry asked his headmaster.

"It is a fantastic device which unfortunately is no longer made. I do not know the name but I have made it my own little mission to find out" Dumbledore chuckled lightly. "If you mean what it does then that is a little harder to answer. What do you feel like as you look at it?"

Harry stopped for a moment to think about it, and found his eyes inexplicably drawn to the machine. Watching it he found himself start to drift into the state he was in early this morning, with the question in his head he found the answer which he really had known all along.

"It helps me keep calm, I mean in the way you described it" he said, with a bit of difficulty vocalising his thoughts and Dumbledore nodded.

"Exactly, it helps us to enter a more, receptive state. It is invaluable when thinking about a difficult question, or for other things. It also seems to be able to alert the owner to certain events, I think I have had many more opportunities than fair because this machine has nudged me to be at a certain place at a certain time. As I said, it is quite remarkable."

Harry nodded, impressed with the small machine that was whirring away on Dumbledore's desk and spoke again.

"So what is today's lesson about sir?" he asked and Dumbledore stood up.

"Yes, back on subject. As I said on Thursday evening I would be focussing on the subject on nonverbal magic. It is essential you take it to be instinct. That is another reason why I had you bring our friend here" he inclined his head to the machine on his desk. "Now I assume you have had a chance to try some nonverbal magic in classes?" Harry nodded his agreement "What did it feel like?"

The question threw Harry a bit. He had expected to be asked how performed at it or something similar, or just be expected to practice it. As he sat there thinking he let his eyes wander to the machine on the desk, smiling slightly as he did so and felt his thoughts quieten. After a short amount of time, he was sure of that, he had an answer.

"It's like trying to force something out of a tube, but the tube is too small, and it is getting stuck" Harry thought that this wasn't perhaps the most poetic descriptions but Dumbledore seemed to get the idea.

"It is natural to feel that way. I should probably explain now why, it is a difficult concept what I am about to tell you but it will help you with all your lessons, even these extra ones once you have understood it, I suggest you use your machine" Harry agreed silently and turned to face the machine on the desk. A few minutes later Dumbledore's voice came from beside him.

"Magic is all around us Harry. The measure of a wizard's power is how well they can channel the magic through them. We do this through our wands and combine it with an incantation. The incantation and wand movement are part of the determination for the result of the magic being channelled through us. They shape the effect the magic will have. The incantation shaping the magic in the body and the wand shaping it in the physical world, kind of like a lock and key system, which is why when the wand movement doesn't match the incantation the spell won't work properly, because the magic entering the wand isn't the right 'shape'."

"However when we become used to the incantation to shape the magic we lose the ability to shape the magic's effect ourselves, which is why when we say nonverbal magic we instruct students to consciously think the incantation, and while competence takes awhile, it is still not truly shaping the magic ourselves. It is my goal that your subconscious will be able to 'think' these incantations for you, they will become instinctive."

"The problem you are experiencing is that you are trying to channel the magic while not giving it a real shape, or purpose. This is because without saying it aloud you re losing the focus of the spell, it is losing it's purpose midway and therefore you are trying to channel something with no shape, and because the wand is acting for a specific 'shape' the magic can't escape through it. In order to remedy this I think we will spend this whole session practicing nothing but nonverbal magic. I want you to visualise the result of the spell, while thinking the incantation. You must give the magic purpose."

Harry took a few minutes in silence absorbing Dumbledore's words. He did find it confusing, but at the same time, it did make sense. Slowly he nodded and Dumbledore clapped his hands.

"Excellent, first I would like you to try…" For the rest of the lesson Dumbledore would tell Harry a spell to perform, they would discuss briefly the purpose of the spell and Harry would practice it nonverbally, thinking of both the incantation and the end result of the spell. It was slow progress at first but after a few spells he was slowly getting the hang of it and by the end of the session he could successfully cast any spell Dumbledore asked him.

"Excellent Harry, very well done! Now you will naturally be slow on the use of nonverbal spells for the moment however this should have helped you in lessons, as you now know how to cast the spells properly. I would say though that until you have become more adept you do not use spells nonverbally in any duels you find yourself in unless you can be sure you have the time needed to properly shape the spell." Harry understood. He was taking a bit longer than usual to cast his spells nonverbally because of the extra focus he was doing. He was able to accept that with practice would come competence.

"However if you make it routine to meditate once a day using your machine I think that would perhaps speed up the process a bit for us, so as homework I am assigning you to spend half an hour each day meditating with the machine, as well as practicing nonverbal spells." Harry nodded, really as far as homework went, that wasn't too bad. Dumbledore checked his watch.

"Good gracious is that really the time? We must leave our lesson here Harry; otherwise we shall both be late for lunch. I shall see you at our next lesson." Harry saw that lunch had started and he packed his machine into his bag.

"Thanks a lot sir!" Harry said sincerely. "See you next week!"

"It is my pleasure Harry; I shall see you next Sunday." Dumbledore replied kindly. Harry hurried down to the Great Hall, finding Ron and Hermione sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table.

"Harry! How did it go?" Hermione asked when she saw him,

Harry was busy piling things onto his plate but looked up at both of them with a smile on his face.

"Brilliant!"

**A/N: Well it has taken me ages to put this up, and it has gone half past midnight when I finished! I hope you enjoyed it, like I said it is a bit content heavy and unfortunately there was a lot of stuff here that is relevant later on, and it had to appear all now really, but it is all over with now. Anyway please review and tell me what you think, I am going to try and reply to reviews now! So thanks for reading and I will see you all soon hopefully!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Wow it has been ages since I last posted! Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing and reading up until now! I discovered this story again and instead of starting to write straight away I took a bit of time and have properly planned the story now, so hopefully the next time I update will be sooner! To those who have waited, and to those just joining, let us journey once again, onwards.**

**Chapter 5: It would be just too easy otherwise.**

Harry fell into his favourite armchair by the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. He had told Ron and Hermione about his first lesson with Dumbledore at lunch and without a second word Hermione had taken off to the library, leaving a bemused Harry and Ron behind, who spent an enjoyable afternoon on the Quidditch pitch with Ginny and Dean.

Ron collapsed into the chair opposite him and caught his eye. "So should we start on that Charms essay before Hermione gets back?" Ron asked, already reaching for his bag. Harry looked at the clock hanging on the wall and nodded his agreement. He had a lesson with Snape tomorrow and didn't want to be up all of Monday night doing it.

"I guess, just let me get my…thing first, it might help us both out" Harry said, lifting himself out of a very comfortable position and stretching.

"Brilliant idea mate!" Ron added brightly as unscrewed the cap on his inkwell and unfurled a sheet of parchment.

Harry returned a few minutes later to see Ron had not written more than the title, and, with a smile to himself set the machine on the table before getting his own set of books and parchment out. Naturally his eyes found their way to the machine. For a while he admired it's shape, and the smoke it emitted every now and then, feeling the familiar sense of calm settle over him. He vaguely heard the sound of Ron's scratching quill and absentmindedly wrote the title of the homework on the page (_The appliance of the Dissipation Charm_) and as he did so, the question entered his head.

For a long time he sat there, with the question harmlessly revolving around his mind while his brain, slowly at first, began to put together an answer, to the background music of Ron's quill. About half an hour later Harry reached for his quill and began to write. All of his thoughts spread across the parchment in his untidy handwriting, effortlessly recording his progress. He became so absorbed in the process he did not notice Ron complain about the length of the essay, or the first year boy trip up as he came in through the portrait hole.

He was startled from his trance when Hermione stormed in, and upon seeing the machine on the table, let out a frustrated moan. "Oh Hermione, nice for you to join us" Ron said, with a raised eyebrow, "Something bothering you?"

"Yes, actually" Hermione stated, looking pointedly at the machine "I've been in the library _all day _trying to find out about that!" she pointed a finger at the offending object.

"Can I ask why?" Harry asked, slightly bemused.

"Because," Hermione began "I wanted to know if there were anymore available"

"But Dumbledore said that they aren't made anymore" Harry said confusedly.

"Oh I know, but I just wanted to check," Ron let out an exasperated sigh, Hermione ignored him "Because it only works for one person, and it would be good if we could all have one. But the lack of name isn't very helpful at all! I've checked everywhere, except the Restricted Section, and I only found one paragraph which didn't mention a name!" She threw her hands up in exhaustion and took one of the chairs next to them.

"Is that _homework_ I see you doing?" She asked incredulously. When they both nodded she looked dumbfounded for a minute before finding her voice. "Well I should say it was about time you took some initiative, but don't we have dinner now?"

At the mention of food Ron threw all of his work into a bag (Hermione paled at the crumpled parchment) and tore up to his dormitory to dump his bag before heading down. Smiling to himself, Harry packed up his things and picked the machine before going to put his things away too, granted in a more civilised manner than Ron had, and the trio made their way down.

Thanks to many night-time wanderings, Harry used his knowledge of the castles' secret passages to get them down to the Great Hall along with most of the other students, at which point Ron, using his pointy elbows, found his way to the Gryffindor table where he began to feast upon everything in sight.

Harry and Hermione joined him a moment later but before Harry could reach for the potatoes Professor Snape appeared over his shoulder.

"Mr. Potter, a word." He said, looking at the mashed potato on Ron's ear in disdain. Stomach grumbling, Harry rose from his seat with a mutter to his friends and followed the Potions Professor to an antechamber off the Great Hall.

"Now, as the headmaster has informed you, I will be instructing you in defending yourself against the Dark Arts." Snape began, Harry didn't say anything but nodded. "Do not think that this will afford you any special treatment Mr Potter," Snape continued and Harry had to bite back a retort "but I think it is best you know in advance of tomorrow night what to expect."

"I shall be teaching you Death Eater tactics and spells, and how to counter them and defend yourself against them. Much of the content you will find disturbing, but the headmaster feels that you should be informed." Snape paused to gauge Harry's expression but seeing acceptance he continued. "Tomorrow I want you in my office at 8.00 sharp. Books will not be needed, and lateness will be…punished" Snape finished curtly.

"Punished, sir?" Harry asked, unable to resist. At this Professor Snape got a small smile.

"You are studying the Dark Arts in these lessons Mr. Potter, be creative." He turned to go, but Harry stopped him.

"I thought I was only learning counter curses, stuff like that" Snape turned and looked right at Harry.

"That will be no use to you from now on. To truly defend against the Dark Arts you must understand them. And the Death Eaters are experts in their application. I will see you at 8.00pm sharp." And without another word the Potions Master left Harry alone in the anteroom.

When Harry joined Ron and Hermione back at the table he immediately filled them in on what Professor Snape had told him. Ron swore and Hermione paled.

"But Harry, he _can't_. The Dark Arts are evil! I'm sure if you just _spoke_ to Professor Dumbledore-" she began in a rushed voice, but Harry interrupted her.

"The lessons were Dumbledore's idea Hermione. Besides you're right, the Dark Arts are evil, but they are what we are fighting against. We need to know" Ron slowly nodded.

"I don't like it either, and the idea of Snape teaching that stuff makes me uncomfortable but we, and Harry especially need to know."

"Well I don't want any part of it" Hermione said with a shudder. "Tell Ron everything you like Harry but leave me out of it." Harry nodded his agreement and Hermione softened. "I'm not mad Harry, it is just there are some things even I don't want to know.

They passed the rest of dinner without mentioning Harry's lessons with Snape, and other than when Ginny joined them at the table, not much occurred. As they left the hall Harry and Professor Snape locked eyes, and for the first time Harry felt that the knowledge the Potions Master had might just be something which would save his life.

Back in the Common Room Harry, Ron and Hermione finished their Charms essays, Hermione's effort made even more impressive due to the fact she hadn't started when she met Harry and Ron earlier. Rolling up his parchment Harry packed it away and put everything, including his machine in his room. He rejoined Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Dean in the Common Room to watch Ron beat Dean in two games of chess and lose one to Ron himself before feeling a strange exhaustion creep over him. Mumbling his goodnight's he made his way up to his bed and barely drew the curtains around his bed before he fell fast asleep.

Just like the days before, Harry awoke with a start, quite refreshed, but with the same indescribable feeling. Fearing the worst he checked the clock and it was indeed 6.00am. He looked at his machine in frustration. "You couldn't just let me sleep in could you?" he mumbled to it before stretching and getting up.

He descended into the Common Room after showering, his bag slung over his shoulder and his Transfiguration book under his arm when he saw a figure on the couch. Slowly moving forwards he saw it was Ginny.

"Ginny?" Harry called tentatively. She looked up and he saw she had bloodshot eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh hi Harry," she said weakly. "I'll be OK thanks for asking, I just had an argument with Dean last night, I couldn't sleep that well"

"What happened?" Harry asked, taking the seat next to her. Ginny chuckled.

"Harry you are sweet, but I don't think you could help me much this time" Ginny smiled at him. "It was just a silly little thing."

"It doesn't seem to be that silly." Harry said, indicating her current state and Ginny laughed.

"Sometimes the silly little things get to you a b it before you realise how silly they really are." Harry looked at her, still unconvinced. "I'll be fine Harry. If it makes you feel any better about it, you snapped me out of it. Well done!" She said jokingly and Harry dropped the issue.

"Well as long as my work here is done" Harry said in a mock-heroic voice, and Ginny laughed.

"And on that note I am going to try and get back to sleep, maybe I'll plug Mandy's nose to stop her snoring" Ginny said, looking at the stairs to the girl's dormitories. "See you later Harry" she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked back up to her room. Harry watched her go and then turned to the fire and opened his transfiguration book, a small smile on his face.

Ron found him later on ("What are you _doing_ reading at this time in the morning?") and they journeyed down to breakfast with Hermione. Ginny and Dean seemed to be on good terms again as they walked in front of the trio out of the portrait hole hand in hand.

The rest of the day passed without incident and all to soon for Harry's liking it was time for his lesson with Professor Snape. Just before he left he went to get his machine, deciding he would need its help at keeping a clear mind. He arrived outside Professor Snape's office at five minutes past. The words of the Potions Master yesterday ran through his head and, praying the punishment wouldn't be too bad, he burst in apology in full flow.

"Professor I am sorry I am late but I-" Harry never got to finish his apology as the minute he stepped through the door a curse flew straight at Harry, stunning him. A few moments later he was revived, seeing Professor Snape towering over him.

"On your feet Potter. Count that as going easy on you. Next time I won't be so generous" he said curtly.

"I wasn't ready!" Harry exclaimed, immediately feeling foolish.

"But of course, do you expect Death Eaters to give you a chance to be ready. They wish to avoid casualties, the same as our side, and will prefer to strike with surprise. It helps add to the element of fear as well. Count that as your first lesson."

Professor Snape lowered his wand and faced Harry. "I said you would not need books today but I expect you to research certain curses and applications of the Dark Arts in your free time. I do not expect you to have the required material so these," he indicated three books on his table "should suffice. Be aware that nobody who does not know the nature of our lessons should be aware that you have them in your possession, they would not be looked at…favourably."

Harry looked at the books bound in black leather and silently agreed. He collected them and put them in his bag, taking his machine out and put it on the table.

"What is that contraption Potter" Professor Snape said impatiently, looking at the machine.

"It is something Professor Dumbledore gave me," Harry explained. "It helps me learn things quicker, and keep my mind clear". Professor Snape said nothing more on the matter, just nodded his consent and took a few paces away from Harry.

"Now then Potter; in these lessons we will be mostly duelling, so you can learn to fight against the Dark Arts. I will be using the Death Eaters most common duelling tactics and curses, and I expect you to fight me properly. I have an assortment of Potions which are remedies to any effects the curses may have."

"Will you be teaching me any spells?" Harry asked. Professor Snape said nothing but raised an eyebrow. "Sir" Harry added.

"I will be teaching you some curses which can be used effectively against the Death Eaters, and while they belong to the branch of magic known as the Dark Arts, they are not intrinsically Dark themselves. I will also educate you in some of the theory behind what makes the Dark Arts so dangerous. For this lesson however I will simply test your aptitude."

"Aptitude?" Harry asked, but instead of a response Professor Snape wordlessly sent a stunner at him. Harry cast a shield charm just in time to deflect it. "Of course." Harry growled from behind his barrier before countering with a stunner of his own.

From then until the end of the session they duelled. Professor Snape constantly had Harry on the back foot, shifting his style and spells seamlessly. While he was not nearly as skilled as Dumbledore, he was clearly a skilled fighter. At the end of the session Harry was exhausted but pleased he had only been stunned three times.

"Well Potter, it seems you aren't completely incompetent." Professor Snape said, and Harry noted with a touch of pride the Potions Master seemed out of breath. "We have a lot to do but your lessons with Professor Moody should speed the process up. For the next lesson I want you to read the first chapter of each of those books. We will be looking at a specific spell which is commonly used by Death Eaters and start some theory." Professor Snape waved his wand and the door opened. "You may go."

Harry packed his machine and uttered his thanks and made his way to the door. Just as he was about to leave, Professor Snape called to him.

"Potter." Harry turned to face him. "Work harder on casting your spells nonverbally. Shouting them like a madman will likely get you killed or caught in the real world." And with that the Potions Master strode into his private quarters. Harry shook his head and bit his tongue.

He reached the Gryffindor Common Room sore and tired, and walking in through the portrait hole he found his two best friends waiting for him. Exhausted, he told them of his first lesson with Professor Snape.

**A/N: Well there we go! Months coming and three days writing went into that chapter! It has been my first go at writing again in months, but hopefully it has turned out OK! Let me know how you found it and leave me a review! I will try and reply to each one I get for this chapter! I will work on the next chapter and hope to post it soon! See you then, or sooner if I reply to your review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: OK wow, I can honestly say that when I wrote the last chapter I never expected to be away as long as I was, and when I was away I didn't think I would be able to finish writing! Well, all of this aside I am indeed back, putting the plot back together and working on some important elements of the story. Knowing how it all ends kind of makes me want to finish so I will be aiming to actually update this time, ideally once every two weeks but obviously I will not make any promises. Anyway I hope you stick with it, and let me know what you think, any criticism, good or bad, will be greatly appreciated and will go towards making the next chapter come that little bit faster.**

**Chapter 6: Meeting with Moody**

Tuesday morning dawned with a brilliant sunrise. Harry knew as he was just out of the showers and looking out the window as the first red-gold rays that reminded him of Fawkes' tail feathers so much pierced the sky. When Harry had awoken he had instantly been filled with a sense of anticipation about today, as it would be his first extra lesson with Professor Moody.

This of course being the real Moody, as they had the imposter Barty Crouch Junior in his fourth year, and he was looking forward to it almost as much as Professor Dumbledore's lessons. As his only ambition was to be an Auror past beating Voldemort he was all too aware of how valuable one on one time with the famed Dark wizard catcher would be.

Settling himself in the Common room he decided this would be the ideal opportunity to start reading Snape's books from the previous night, and the Potions Master was quite right, if anyone saw him reading this material questions would be asked.

He grabbed the first of the black leather bound books and set his machine on the table. As it started up and the puffs of smoke he felt himself calm at the sight of it. The book was bound in black leather with silver writing engraved on the front of it: _The pathway to power_. He grimaced knowing exactly the allure a title like that would have on would-be Death Eaters.

Remembering his first experience with books like this in the Restricted Section his cast a silencing charm first, so as not to awaken any other students if the book were to scream. Opening the book to the first chapter, which detailed a wizard with tendrils of dark smoke surrounding him and others cowering in fear, he began to read.

It was about an hour later when Ron descended the stairs looking a bit disgruntled.

"You're reading _again_?" He asked incredulously as he saw the book open in Harry's lap. Harry nodded, he had actually read he first chapter of two of the three books Snape had given him. He had just been reading about a curse found in all three books, this one entitled '_Fear and respect_', which created searing pain in a certain are of the body, as if the body part were exposed to fire.

"Well I think it might the best time to do Snape's extra reading assignments" Harry countered, holding up the book, revealing the pages he was reading, which clearly showed a wizard in pain, clutching his side. Ron eyed the book with disdain.

"Fair point mate, just don't let Hermione see, she would go mental" Ron grimaced as he took a look and shuddered. Harry nodded and closed the book, shoving it firmly into his bag.

"So what are you upset about then?" Harry asked. And Ron looked back up the stairs to the dormitory, and then around the common room, as if to make sure they weren't being overheard.

"Thomas" Ron growled.

"Dean?" Harry asked, "why?"

"Well I was only sleeping lightly," Harry snorted and Ron gave him a look "after some prat left the room loudly earlier" and he was satisfied to see Harry look a bit contrite, "and I heard him say Ginny's name" Ron finished.

"That's it?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"It wasn't in a way which a brother should hear his sister's name being…spoken." he answered while turning a bit pink, and Harry stifled a laugh.

"Don't worry about it mate," Harry consoled him "Nothing like that could have happened yet, and I'm sure he wouldn't be so stupid to try anything with her brother sleeping 4 feet away from him" at this Ron brightened a bit.

"Yeah I guess you're right, it would be silly to try it"

"Silly to try what?" came a female voice from the stairs. Both boys whipped round to see Ginny standing on the steps looking at them.

"Nothing" they both said at once and then broke into silly grins as she rolled her eyes at them. Before she could respond however other students started descending from their rooms and Ron and Harry moved on with the breakfast rush.

They were midway through their breakfast when Hermione joined them (Ron on his second helping).

"Why didn't you wait for me?" she asked, looking at both of them for an answer.

"We had to get out of an awkward situation." Ron said quickly.

"Which was?" Hermione said, clearly not satisfied.

"That Ron can't handle Ginny growing up and is too afraid to tell her" Harry answered with a smirk and ducked the piece of toast Ron threw at him.

"Ron what is he talking about?" Hermione asked exasperatedly as she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

"Well…er… I was lying in bed this morning and…er…I heard Dean say Ginny's name…you know, in _that_ way" Ron mumbled turning redder by the second.

"Well _honestly_ Ron," Hermione sighed, "of course moments like this are going to happen, Ginny is growing up Ron, and guys have noticed it. Not to mention if you are sleeping with her boyfriend-"

"That sounds _so_ wrong Hermione" Harry chuckled and she gave him a glare before continuing.

"If you are sleeping in the same room as her boyfriend then there are bound to be moments where you overhear some private thoughts. It's not like he means for you to hear them, in fact I think he would be horrified!" Hermione finished.

"Yeah…well…' Ron said, still a bit uneasy, "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

"So Harry who do you have today for your lessons?" Hermione asked, clearly looking to change the subject.

"Moody" Harry replied quickly, a grin spreading over his face.

"Wonder what he will be teaching you" Ron said between mouthfuls.

"Well he will probably be teaching Harry Auror techniques, stealth and tracking I'm guessing would be the main things I guess, right Harry?" Hermione mused and Harry nodded his agreement.

"That's what Dumbledore said. I don't reckon I need too much stealth practice with the cloak, but tracking could be useful. I think I'll also be working on dueling technique." Harry continued.

Ron opened his mouth to say something but then shut it again when Dean walked in holding Ginny's hand, clearly he had said something funny as she laughed while the made their way to the table. Ron glared at him while they sat down at the table and winced as Hermione kicked him under the table.

"Oh for goodness' sake Ron" she huffed while Harry laughed into his goblet.

"Fine, fine, it was just a reflex" Ron said throwing his hands over his head and Hermione smiled with a look of satisfaction. "Can't I just have days?" Ron asked looking around "Like big brother days, where six days of the week I don't give any looks or anything like that, and then on the seventh I get to be the overprotective big brother?"

"Once a month Ron" Hermione said, with an air of finality. Ron started to retort but seeing the look on her face he let it die, wondering how on earth he managed to lose the idea he himself had come up with.

Harry meanwhile watched their little exchange with interest. He had seen a slight shift in both of their attitudes over the summer, but didn't quite know what to make of it. He was fairly sure he would be happy for them if they got together, but then what if it all went wrong?

He had no time to continue his musings though as everyone started leaving for their first lessons of the day, which for Harry, Ron and Hermione meant Charms. They filed into the classroom together, with Ron only now displaying signs of nervousness about the length of his essay that was immediately summoned from their bags once they sat down.

The lesson passed fairly quickly as they were all practicing the non-verbal silencing charm, which Harry performed perfectly instantaneously due to his practice with Dumbledore, earning him 10 points to Gryffindor and a look of shock that anyone had outperformed Hermione, making him turn a bit red.

Potions was an awkward affair as Snape breathed down all their necks as they sweated over a Draught of the Living Death, paying extra attention to Harry, but he still felt he might have actually got a reasonable mark, as his finished potion looked _almost_ exactly like what the book said it should look like.

Harry, along with the rest of the Gryffindor's, scrambled out of the Potions dungeons when the bell rang. Sitting down next to Ginny he helped himself to a bit of all his favourites and started eating, while Ron piled his plate to the height his Charms essay should have been.

"Long morning then Harry?" Ginny asked with a laugh, and Harry furiously nodded.

"And big afternoon, a double with Moody" he replied.

Professor Moody had already had one lesson with the sixth years, and the impression he made on them was the same as he made on every other class. That he _knew_ what he was talking about. There was already talk that the real Moody was outperforming the imposter by a mile in terms of teaching ability and content. Not to mention he really knew how to use both eyes to their advantage in intimidating someone.

"Did you practice casting the shield charm silently for the lesson today Harry?" Ron asked in a rare in-between mouthfuls pause. And Harry grimaced.

"Nah, but let's hope that lesson with Dumbledore will pay off already" he replied, trying to keep calm and not envisage a curse flying at him while his shield did not appear.

"Well as _entertaining_ as this conversation is," Ginny chimed in "I have to go find Dean, good luck with Moody's class Harry" she patted him on the shoulder as she left. When Harry turned around he saw Ron making dark looks in Dean's direction, before catching Hermione's gaze and hastily shifted his expression to nonchalant.

"We better get going soon as well Ron" Harry said moving to grab his bag "After all you could just pair with Dean now and hope his shield doesn't appear"

"Great idea Harry, I might just do that" Ron said enthusiastically.

Harry grinned at Hermione's horror at the suggestion. "I was _joking_ Hermione" he made to appease her.

"I'm not." Ron mumbled but unfortunately, Hermione heard him and swatted his ear.

Moody's lesson actually went very well, with Harry and Ron partnered Harry managed to silently cast the spell successfully in 10 minutes earning Professor Moody's praise. As they packed up their things at the end of the lesson Professor Moody called him back.

"A word please, Potter" he growled from behind his desk. Ron and Hermione looked enquiringly at him but he shook his head.

"Don't worry go on and tell McGonagall why I'm late. See you in Transfiguration" Harry pressed and turned back into the classroom. Professor Moody smiled and offered him a seat, which Harry took.

"Now I know Dumbledore told you what to expect in my lessons Potter," the Professor began, "and I also know that your cloak does a pretty good job of hiding you." he surveyed Harry for a minute. "But it isn't foolproof, so I won't be cutting out concealment entirely, so we will be mainly working on that tonight. I want you to bring your cloak along tonight as well."

"I always do sir," Harry said quickly. Professor Moody looked at him hard again before grunting and nodding his head.

"Good…good. Well Potter, you don't want to be late, better get going, and give Minerva my apologies for keeping you behind" Professor Moody dismissed him and Harry took off from the classroom at a light jog, making it to the Transfiguration classroom ten minutes into the lesson with stammered apologies.

Dinner was a quick affair for Harry that night as he arrived and left early, only having a brief conversation with Ginny, Ron and Hermione before tearing back up to Gryffindor Tower to finish off his reading for Professor Snape as well as starting his essay for Transfiguration.

Just as he was halfway through a paragraph detailing why the Switching Spell was much more complicated than the Reversing Spell he noticed the portrait open, looking up he saw Ron and Hermione enter, looking surprised to see him there.

"Harry…what are you doing here?" Hermione asked him.

"This damn Transfiguration essay, honestly it's like-" Harry begun but Ron cut him off.

"No as in what are you actually doing here? It is ten minutes to eight!" Harry's eyes widened as he looked at the clock on the wall and confirmed that it was indeed the aforementioned time.

Cursing under his breath he shoved his stuff into his bag, carefully replacing his machine and stuffing his invisibility cloak into his pocket he tore out of the Common Room uttering a hurried goodbye to Ron and Hermione.

Panting he arrived in front of Professor Moody's office and burst straight in intending to offer his apologies. Before he could get a word out he felt his limbs snap together and he keeled over on the floor.

"Sloppy Potter" Professor Moody growled. Harry, lying on the floor thinking he was getting tired of being jinxed every time he walked into a teacher's office, strained to get a look at his attacker.

Professor Moody removed his bag from him, examined his cloak, machine and essay with interest, and gave his final book from Professor Snape a dark look. Standing over him he bent down and looked at Harry with both eyes.

"Constant Vigilance Potter. I hope this is the last time I catch you being so careless. Keep your wits about you boy. You need to learn to anticipate actions." Standing up and moving away from him Professor Moody released the curse on him and Harry stood up setting his machine up and grabbing his wand.

"I will be teaching you many things in these lessons Potter but how to correctly anticipate your opponents actions will be among the most valuable. How they move, how the look, the way they breathe, all of those things tell you everything you need to know about someone before they open their mouth. If you know what they are about to do before _they_ do then you instantly have the upper hand."

Harry just listened, knowing no answer was needed. He waited for a bit before the Professor turned around and looked at him again breaking into a smile. "But that will come in a few weeks. For these first few lessons we will work on concealment and tracking. Now that cloak of yours," His magical eye swiveled in his head to look at the invisibility cloak on the desk.

"It will do very nicely for a lot of things, though knowing how to conceal yourself with out it, or to alter your appearance to prevent yourself from being recognized are invaluable assets. Now I won't be teaching you the whole Auror syllabus on this, but even so I expect you to do a lot of extra practice to get the level of competency you need I will be testing you in two weeks on what we have covered so far, and I expect you to be up to standard."

"How will I know if I am sir?" Harry asked, eager to prove himself to the aged Auror.

"I'll be the judge of that." Moody growled, though not unkindly. "I'll be teaching you a simple tracking charm next week as well, as it will be good to merge both tracking and concealment as the theory for one complements the other and should speed up the process a bit." Harry said nothing again but just nodded.

"Now to start with, we will work on the Disillusionment Charm, remember that one?" Harry grinned remembering the Dursley's destroyed kitchen. "Good now Dumbledore told me about that machine of yours so I expect you to have a good crack at it by the end of this session, _silently_ mind you" Harry gaped at the older wizard.

"Without having done it before?" he asked incredulously.

"Play time is over Potter" Professor Moody grunted back. "Now settle yourself down and get ready to begin."

Harry let his eyes drift over to the machine and felt himself slip into that familiar sense of calm. First Professor Moody gave him a brief lecture on the charm, what it was used for and then taught him the incantation, luckily the wand movement being very simple.

"Remember Potter than a wand movement for a spell is related to the purpose it has, very complicated wand movements are because they tend to define the purpose of the spell more than a vague one and make it easier for the caster to cast the spell."

To Harry's great surprise the lesson passed very quickly and by the end of it he could successfully cast the Disillusionment Charm silently and the grizzled Professor gave him a smile and pat on the shoulder.

"See it isn't that difficult after all is it Potter?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not used to being able to cast spells correctly this quickly sir"

"Well get used to it, next week I have three to show you which I expect you to be able to use properly in time for the test," he chuckled at Harry's expression. "I expect you to read the chapters on concealment before our next lesson, pay special attention to the parts on using your surroundings to your advantage"

Harry just shook his head in disbelief as he packed up his things and headed towards the door.

"Thanks Professor, see you tomorrow." Harry said and just as he was turning around he saw a jet of red light fly at him out of the corner of his eye. Wand in hand he thought _Protego_ silently as was pleased to see the spell bounce harmlessly into the wall. He turned around to see Professor Moody smiling.

"Good to see you were paying attention in classes today Potter, a bit slow on the uptake though, make sure you have that wand on you at all times. Remember, constant vigilance!" Harry chuckled and hurriedly left the room before Professor Moody decided to _test _him again.

He made it all the way back to Gryffindor Tower undetected, using the Disillusionment Charm instead of his invisibility cloak whenever he felt he might be detected, and other than a near miss with Mrs. Norris he had a very quick journey.

Sure enough when he entered the Common Room he saw his two best friends waiting by the fire for him. He smiled and decided to have a bit of fun with them. Casting the charm on himself he snuck into the room and watched his two friends. He saw them both perk up at the sound of the portrait opening and closing.

"What was that?" Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing.

"I thought it was the portrait hole." Ron said warily looking at it

"Isn't it time Harry is back about now," Hermione got up and peered at the passageway, "Harry?" she called uncertainly.

Taking the distraction Harry snuck up behind Ron and whispered in his ear

"Boo"

"ARGH" Ron shouted jumping around. "Harry you _prat_"

Harry's laughter rang in the Common Room and Hermione huffed.

"_Really_ Harry. _Accio _invisibility cloak" she called. The cloak flew into her hand but to her disappointment Harry did not appear, only causing Harry to redouble his laughter.

Still chuckling he removed the charm and greeted his two friends who broke into reluctant grins, and sitting down, he told them about his lesson with Professor Moody.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this one guys, let me know what you think!**


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